Search This Blog

New Beginnings

Your
protagonist opens the door and finds an unexpected guest–a friend from high
school who hasn’t been heard from in many years.

This
friend has fallen on hard times and wants to stay with your protagonist a few
days. As your protagonist and friend sit in the kitchen, the friend reminisces
about the old days…and stirs up trouble by recalling some unhappy teen moments,
too.

How
does your protagonist react and what are those good and bad times in the
past?

New Beginnings

819 words

A loud knocking roused Deidre
from a great erotic dream. Darn! Usually she had one of one of those worrisome
dreams where she arrived late somewhere in her pajamas.

She’d
had a late night shift in her manager position at the restaurant and was sleeping
in on this Saturday morning. What a night! Their head chef Henri had announced
his resignation and had walked out on them without a backward glance. He had
always been a temperamental type but she didn’t know it had been that bad.

“Okay, I’m coming,” she muttered
and yawned as she stumbled to the door.

Opening the door, she came face
to face with a familiar but somewhat older looking face. All she could do was
stare as if she was seeing a ghost.

“Hi Dede,” the man said, using her nickname
from high school days.

“Martin, is that really you? I
thought you moved up North,” she said, incredulous. She took a good look at
him. He’d filled out a lot in fifteen years from when he was seventeen. His
hairline had receded and there were dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn’t
slept well, but he still retained that boyish look she remembered as much as
she’d tried to forget.

She must look a sight in her
baggy pajamas with her ratty bed hair, puffy eyes and no makeup.

“You look great, Dede,” he said. “Can
I come in?”

“What? Oh, sure,” she said
opening the door wider to let him in. She noticed he had a big knapsack with
him.

He sat down at the kitchen table
with a weary sigh and dumped his pack on the floor.

“Would you like coffee?” she
asked as she put a K-cup into the coffee maker and waited for it to heat up.

“Love some,” he answered looking
around her apartment.

“So what brings you here after
all this time?” Deidre asked handing him a coffee. “I put in cream and sugar.
That’s how you used to take it, right?”

“Yes. Good memory,” he said. He
took a sip and swallowed. “I need a place to crash for a few days. I just got
laid off my chef job when the lodge up in Timmins where I was working went out
of business. Also Elise told me she’d found someone else and kicked me out of
the house. Not the best week I’ve ever had.” He pulled the saddest face he
could manage and shrugged. “But what can you do? That’s life, eh?”

“How did you know where to find
me?” Deidre asked.

“I got in touch with your parents,”
he said. “They were reluctant to tell me anything at first.”

“Not surprising,” Deidre said. “You
broke my heart that summer.”

“I’m so sorry about that. I was
immature and stupid. Still am, according to Elise.”

“I heard you and Elise got
married and that you had a girl.”

“Sarah’s great,” he said smiling.
He’d always had a wonderful smile, Deidre thought. That was one of the things she’d
first liked about him.

“Why did you come here? Surely
you have other friends you’re closer to who would have taken you in?”

“I wanted to see you again. I
never stopped thinking about you all these years,” Martin said.

“Sorry I made
such a mess of things. Getting Elise pregnant was not something I’m proud of. I
do love my daughter though, even if Elise and I never had much of a
relationship.”

“I have an idea,” Deidre said,
jumping to her feet in excitement. “I manage the Northern Lights Restaurant.
Our chef just quit. Are you available?”

“I don’t believe my luck. That
would be perfect,” Martin said, his face brightening. “For once my timing is
good.”

“I’ll let you stay here a few
days until you find your own place. You can sleep on the couch,” she continued.
Take things slow she thought. Even if she was interested, she didn’t want him
to know just yet. She’d been burnt once already.

“I’m so grateful to you, Dede. I’ll
never forget this.” His face lit up with that smile that used to mesmerize her
and turn her legs to jelly. It still had an effect on her but she would take it
slow and be cautious this time. She wasn’t that foolish teen any longer.

“Here’s to new beginnings,
Martin,” Deidre said, clinking her coffee cup with his.

Get link

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Google+

Email

Other Apps

Comments

I love how you turned the prompt into such an engaging tale and with a backstory too! Ooh, but this isn't the end, right? I hope the story moves forward :D The Story-A-Day is a new find for me! Thanks. I will look into it in June and try my hand at it :)

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I am particpating in the Barathon with the blogging group, Blog a Rhythm for the week of June 14 to 30th, a fortnight of blogging as they say in India. I almost forgot that a fortnight means two weeks. Such a fun British term.

Today's prompt is "The Fault in our Stares." The theme for the week is "Seven" which I have no idea how to incorporate into today's post, other than this memory took place in the 19 SEVENties. There, I did it! PHEW!

This is a memory I have of volunteering as a candy striper in a hospital when I was about thirteen. A loud garbled
cry comes from the small shrunken man in the hospital bed. He drools from the
side of his sagging mouth, his red tinged eyes pleading, as he tries to get my
attention. I have just
started working as a candy striper and Monsieur Couvrette scares me with his
pitiful cries and pathetic look. Most of the time, I try to avoid him as he
seems so angry. He lies in
the bed, sad, helpless, shriveled and shrunken, his skin…

I am participating in the BarAThon with the blogging group, Blog a Rhythm for the weeks of June 14 to 30th. Today's prompt is "War and Pieces." I did a poem for today's challenge. War and Pieces Pieces of shrapnel, pieces of bone Pieces of metal, pieces of stone, Fly-covered corpses, their blood
brownish-red Survivors wish that they, too, were
dead. War hungry maniacs with evil goals Destroying lives and shattering souls, Power hungry men, they always want
more Making life harder for the sick and
the poor, Everywhere, despair increases Such is the life, with war and pieces

I am participating in the BarAThon with the blogging group, Blog a Rhythm for the weeks of June 14 to 30th. Today is the final prompt. We made it! Congratulations to my fellow bloggers and thanks for reading and supporting me. Always appreciated!

Today's prompt is "The Call of the Wind." I got my inspiration thinking about walking along Point Michaud on the Atlantic, located on the East coast of Canada in Cape Breton, a place I love very much. The Call of the Wind The call of the wind is beckoning me It reaches out from the angry sea, With a darkening sky and clouds so low The wind is calling and I must go, I stand so still and let the wind blow I should go back but my feet won’t go, Wind rips at my hair and stings my eyes The wind squeals and shrieks, with
pitiful cries, I stand on the beach and look at the ocean Watching the waves with their steady
motion, Wave after wave crashes on the shore I watch them recede on the sandy floor, Salt spray crusts my face and hair I’m totally drenc…

I love being creative and expressing myself through writing, art, music or drama.

Writing is my ultimate passion and escape from the mundane daily life of housework and other repetitive duties that can sap the life out of me.

I am an introvert so email and chat are the perfect medium for me. I don't like the phone and avoid it when I can.

I live in a small farming village outside Canada's capitol of Ottawa with my husband and two young adult sons.

I belong to a women's choir where I sing Alto 2 and play flute. I also enjoy scrapbooking and preserving our memories instead of letting the photos sit on the computer where no one sees them. I am trying to combine my two talents of cake decorating and photo book making to help people celebrate their events. My biz website is www.catgrahamcreates.com

I adore cats and have a well photographed mischievous orange Tabby named Kobie and a sweet calico named Daisy. I'd love to have more. We also have red Siberian husky and a Malamute. I must admit that I am a crazy cat lady and prefer cats but dogs are great, too. I even have a Facebook account for our zany Malamute, Loup.

I enjoy Facebook and the Internet far too much. Gotta get that writing done!